Twenty Fourteen

The new year started off on the right track thanks to a breakfast made with love.

These bacon breakfast cupcakes were super easy to make and crazy delicious, especially when topped with salsa. I have a feeling they’ll be added into our rotation with the brunch egg casserole.

I also was thrilled to obtain a New Year’s Day eagle out on the golf course thanks to a lucky 50-foot putt on a par-4. Eagles are few and far between, so I took it as a sign of good things to come.

Unfortunately, that optimism did not extend the Packers football season past the first playoff game yesterday. It was a heartbreaking loss in the final seconds to the 49ers, but the good news is that now our team has plenty of time to heal up in preparation for next season. I have a feeling that they’ll be back to full strength by September, and this cheesehead family will be ready to cheer.

So, now that three hours of every Sunday will no longer be devoted to raising my heart rate in a way that requires no exercise whatsoever…I’ve got some extra time to work on my 2014 goals. 🙂 Below is a working list of what I’ve come up with so far.

2014 Goals and Aspirations

Increase my number of fictional pages read to at least 15,000.

I got this page number idea from Katie, and I absolutely love it. In 2013, I read 11,039 pages of fiction, which amounts to 28 books and a short story. The longest book I read was Villa Triste, which was 629 pages. It took me a while to get through that book, but in the end it was roughly the size equivalent of 2-3 normal books I read, which is why I think page numbers is an even more fun way to track progress. I’d love for you to join me in this challenge – find me on Goodreads!

As Katie mentions in her post, there are many editions to a book and the system isn’t perfect, but I figure if the number of pages calculated are close to the specific edition I’m reading, it will be a pretty accurate representation.

Source

Snag some Irish luck (and take in the “Ladies View” pictured above).

It’s no secret that our family likes to golf, and we’re hoping to have a combined golf and sightseeing adventure in Ireland this year. You all were incredibly helpful with your Europe tips last year – if you have any specific recommendations for must-sees in Ireland, please share them with me! We’re just getting started and are already overwhelmed by how much there is to see.

Publish more articles with ImagesAZ and continue my work with current clients.

I haven’t mentioned this on the blog yet, but in addition to the freelance writing and editing I do for my awesome colleagues in Chicago, I contributed a few articles to a local magazine during the last few months of 2013. I was really pleased with how they all turned out and am looking forward to more opportunities to work with this great team. If you’re interested, here is a link to the most recent article I wrote: Riding the Third Wave of Coffee: Roastery of Cave Creek.

Those are three biggies, but the additional goals below are just as important:

• Continue the momentum of our Reading Between the Wines book club.
• Wake up an hour earlier than I do currently each weekday to work on my book.
• Finish a readable draft of said book by mid-2014.
• Try out and incorporate at least five new recipes into our normal dinner routine.
• Make a more conscious effort to stay organized…while also staying realistic (love these tips).
• Volunteer in some capacity at least once per month.
• Complete at least one workout program and train for at least one running race.
• Explore more cities, landmarks and hiking trails right here in Arizona.
• Take a minimum of one day per week to go completely offline.
• Try to take it easier on myself and know when it’s OK to say “no” for my own well-being.
• Be the best wife, sister, daughter, granddaughter, aunt, niece, etc. I can be.

There are more than the 14 goals listed above, but these are the ones I want to put out into the universe in order to be held more accountable for them. I’d love for you to do the same.

Let me know what’s on your “must accomplish” list for 2014.

Abrazos,